கரும்பொன்னுக் கோராறாம் வாலைச் சாறு
கருநொச்சி விளநச்சிக் கலிக்கம் போடு
அரும்பென்ன வேயண்ட மூலி கூட்டி
ஆகாசக் கருடன்பா லறைத்து மூடு
இரும்பென்னே தகத்தகமாம் பொன்னாம் பொன்னாம்
இனியென்னே சிரையோட்டில் காந்த லிங்கம்
வரும்பின்னே வாசியெனும் வளத்தீ மூட்டி
வாதித்தால் உலகமெலாம் வேதை காணே
karumponnuk koraaRaam vaalaich chaaRu
karunochchi viLanachchik kalikkam pOdu
arumpenna vEyaNDa mooli kootti
aakaasak karuDanpaa laRaiththu mooDu
irumpennE thakaththakamaam ponnaam ponnaam
iniyennE siraiyOttil kaantha lingam
varumpinnE vaasiyenum vaLaththee mootti
vaathiththaal ulakamelam vEthai kaaNE
“For the dark metal (‘black-gold’), (take) a quarter-measure of banana sap/juice.
Add black nōcci and viḷa-nācci, and put in kalikkam.
Add also the ‘veyy(a)ṇṭa/veyaṇṭa’ mūli (root), as if (it were) tender shoots.
Grind (all this) with the milk/latex of ‘Ākāsa-Garuḍan’, and seal it closed.
See—iron becomes ‘takattakam’ (ringing/bright) as gold, as gold.
Now then—into the crucible/chamber place the kānta-liṅgam (magnet-linga).
After that, kindle the thriving fire called vāsi.
If you carry out the operation/disputation, the whole world will behold the Veda.”
A coded recipe is given: a base metal (named cryptically as ‘dark-gold’/iron) is treated with plant saps and a mineral agent, then repeatedly ground with a potent latex (“Garuḍan’s milk”) and sealed in a closed vessel. With a regulated heat—called “vāsi” (either a precise furnace regimen or the inner fire of controlled breath)—the base nature is said to become gold. The “magnet-linga” hints at an attracting, centering principle: what is scattered is drawn inward; what is impure is fixed and transformed. When the work is completed, it is not merely metal that changes: the practitioner’s realization becomes ‘Veda’—direct, universally evident knowledge.
1) Outer alchemy (rasa-vāda) layer: - The verse reads like a Siddhar-style metallurgical instruction: plant juices/latex + a mineral additive + sealing (a closed reaction) + controlled heating. “Iron becomes gold” is the classic signifier of a successful transmutation or a perfected ‘kattu’ (binding/fixation) of a volatile agent into a stable, luminous product. - “Seal it” is a standard alchemical move: containment prevents loss of subtle ‘spirit’ (volatile principles), allowing repeated circulation/sublimation inside the vessel. - “Kānta-liṅgam” (magnetic linga) can be read as a specific implement/substance (magnetite or a magnet-shaped pellet used in processing) that ‘attracts’/‘binds’ the active principle, stabilizing the product.
2) Inner yoga layer: - Siddhar texts often let metal-work mirror mind-work. “Iron” can stand for the coarse body-mind (tamas, heaviness, rusting tendencies); “gold” for a clarified, deathless quality (tejas, steadiness, radiance). - “Vāsi” strongly evokes vāsi-yoga / vāsi-karaṇam: breath restraint, inner retention, and the generation of an inward heat (tapas) that ‘cooks’ the psyche. Thus the ‘fire’ is simultaneously furnace heat and prāṇic heat. - The ‘magnet-linga’ then becomes the inner axis (liṅga as sign/mark/center): a concentrating force that draws prāṇa and attention into the central channel, preventing dissipation.
3) Medical (Siddha) subtext: - Several ingredients named are associated (in Siddha imagination) with doṣa management, especially vāta regulation and detoxification. The move from “iron” to “gold” parallels transforming a disease-prone, reactive physiology into a balanced, resilient one. - “Garuḍan’s milk/latex” suggests a potent, possibly toxic medicinal latex used in minute, processed form—an archetype of Siddha pharmacology: poison mastered becomes medicine; medicine perfected becomes ambrosia.
4) Why end with ‘the Veda’? - “Veda” here is not merely scripture; it can mean the witnessed truth (vēdham/veda-jñāna). The claim is that successful transformation (outer and/or inner) results in an undeniable clarity that others recognize—hence “the whole world will see.” The verse keeps the boast deliberately double-edged: it can mean public proof of transmutation, or the spontaneous authority of realized knowledge.